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Every month on this blog, I share my professional views and ongoing learning about life, change and relationships.
These posts are my personal reflections that offer tips and guidance for people looking to live their best lives possible.
Listen Up!
We are terrible listeners. You have heard about listening a hundred times and you might be thinking that you are relatively good at it and don’t need to read this. Stop. I urge you to take two more minutes and continue reading. Studies have made it clear that our fulfillment and happiness is greatly dependent on our connections with people around us. Our connections with others are, like it or...
Work-Life Balance is Impossible
May is such a beautiful month. It is my favourite time of year in Toronto as nature becomes fully alive. Flowers bloom and trees become a special and unique green that says “fresh and new”. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the days are longer. Nature is telling us to breathe, to be hopeful and to find new possibilities. Hope and possibility. New beginnings. It seems like the perfect...
That’s What Friends Are For
I don’t have hundreds of friends on Instagram or Facebook. If I threw a party I couldn’t invite a large group of people. I don’t have many friends. I have a few very close friends in different parts of the world. A few weeks ago, I had an amazing opportunity to spend three days in a small Mexican village with three of my friends from high school. This is us, 40 years ago and now! (Don’t we...
How Much Responsibility is Too Much?
I just listened to a webinar that suggested we take 100% responsibility in all areas of our lives. Sounds beautiful AND unachievable. I was tempted to leave the webinar AND I was reminded how I like to say that in our personal and professional connections, both sides are 100% responsible for what happens within the relationship.What does being 100% responsible actually mean? We need to know...
Stop Fearing Failure
We are told that failure is part of learning and that the only way to grow and create change is to step outside of our comfort zone. We know that the only people who do not fail are the ones who aren’t doing anything.Despite knowing all of these things, most of us fear and even hate failure. As humans we like to feel in control and we like to predict results. In a discussion about next steps in...
I am a Magnificent Normal Person and so are you!
A new year offers an opportunity to change and to start new things. It is also an opportunity to become more aware of our strengths in this ever-changing, wonderful and challenging world. A few weeks ago I was reminded of a simple but powerful concept. Like many of you, I am A Magnificent Normal Person There is power and liberation that comes from accepting that we can be both...
STOP. December is here again.
It is hard to believe that it is December already and we are almost through another year. At the same time, it has been a long and difficult year for many of us. As I raked thousands of leaves from my garden this past weekend I had to accept that winter has arrived. It reminded me that time doesn’t stop and that our lives are constantly changing. I am often trying to inspire you to stop and...
Time to Renovate
You have probably heard people say that they are going through a midlife crisis or that they are struggling and feeling stuck.I felt this way over the summer. Things just felt a bit off and I was depleted. I was also lonely working from home. I decided to take some time to slow down.I allowed myself to just be with whatever came up. I became curious about my feelings and what they might be...
Life, You Owe Me Nothing
It’s been almost a year since my last newsletter, and I am thrilled to be writing again. Life, as it sometimes does, asked me to pause — to be quiet, to heal. During this time, I faced both illness and loss: I was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time, and I said goodbye to my amazing and kind father, with whom I was very close. It was a year of transformation — one that brought...
And vs No
This article originally appeared in Fitness Business magazine in June 2025 Words are powerful. They help us communicate with others and they have an impact. When it comes to how we feel and how we think about ourselves, the words that we use internally are just as powerful as the words that we say out loud. They are the words that we use to shape our self-image and help reate our external...
Listen Up!
We are terrible listeners. You have heard about listening a hundred times and you might be thinking that you are relatively good at it and don’t need to read this. Stop. I urge you to take two more minutes and continue reading. Studies have made it clear that our fulfillment and happiness is greatly dependent on our connections with people around us. Our connections with others are, like it or...
Authentic Communication
Relationships are challenging, despite the fact that we work with people all of the time, we care about the people that our organizations serve, we care about the people we lead, and we want good relationships with our leaders. It can feel as if people don’t understand what we are saying, what we are trying to do or what we need from them. The impact that we are having on others might not...
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT WITHIN OUR CONTROL
I have always enjoyed observing people. As a teenager, I would sit with my grandmother in a coffee shop and wonder about the stories of the people around us. I have spent the last decade as a leadership and communication coach and yet I am still surprised by how wonderful and complicated human relationships are. What does the word conflict mean to you? Does it make you think of disagreement,...
Lessons from a Marriage
Every day, my 90-year-old neighbours hold hands while they walk around the block. It is amazing to see them support each other so tenderly at that age. I am celebrating 30 years of marriage this month and I have been reflecting on what I have learned about relationships both as a partner and as a conflict and communication coach. What can we learn from successful marriages that we might...
Communication is Key: 6 Tools for Good Communication
We need positive connections with others in order to feel happy and fulfilled, but relationships can be complicated. How can we improve our personal and professional relationships? Communication is key. As a leadership and communication coach I spend my days exploring the many different tools we have to better communicate with others. Good communication can be learned and adapted to our...
Moments of Clarity
I've had many moments of clarity over the past few months. One of them has to do with connections. During the pandemic I missed connecting with others. As the world returns to normal I find myself awestruck by small things that I took for granted before, like enjoying a meal at a restaurant, going to a concert or inviting friends over for dinner. This feeling is a true testament to the...
Acceptance is the Beginning of Real Change
I spent last weekend in the north of Canada. White. Cold. Absolutely beautiful. We decided to go snowshoeing through the woods. After about thirty minutes of walking, I found myself completely out of breath. I was trying to keep up with my son, who was walking ahead of me and setting the pace. My heart was pounding. Even in the cold, I was sweating. My legs hurt. And my mind started racing. How...
What if Expectations Are Not The Point?
The holidays often invite us to slow down and reconnect with ourselves and with family and friends. AND they also tend to bring assumptions and disagreements to the surface. That is not a sign that something is wrong. Good relationships, personal and professional, will include assumptions and disagreements. That is part of being in a relationship. Many years ago, a wise aunt once told me, “You...
Work-Life Balance is Impossible
May is such a beautiful month. It is my favourite time of year in Toronto as nature becomes fully alive. Flowers bloom and trees become a special and unique green that says “fresh and new”. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the days are longer. Nature is telling us to breathe, to be hopeful and to find new possibilities. Hope and possibility. New beginnings. It seems like the perfect...
Be Magnificent
Storytelling is a powerful way to communicate and transmit our messages. Stories are what we remember and relate to. As a leadership and communication coach who likes sharing knowledge, I wanted to learn more about what makes a story work as a tool to transmit a message. For the past few weeks I have had the privilege to learn from one of my mentors, inspirational speaker and...
Lessons from a Marriage
Every day, my 90-year-old neighbours hold hands while they walk around the block. It is amazing to see them support each other so tenderly at that age. I am celebrating 30 years of marriage this month and I have been reflecting on what I have learned about relationships both as a partner and as a conflict and communication coach. What can we learn from successful marriages that we might...
Second Place is Absolutely Fantastic
I am not a soccer fan but every four years my family watches the World Cup. I was in Mexico City for the final game in December. Like many people around the world, my family sat together to watch. France and Argentina played a fantastic and very close game. The decision came down to penalties, which is really more about chance than talent. Both teams were excellent. We watched the trophy...
Run Towards Your Goals
There is a lot we can learn from a 10K run. Let me share with you my small and imperfect win of the summer. It has helped me to reflect on life and what we can all do to support our goals. I ran 10K for the first time in my life at the age of 53! I know that for many people this wouldn’t be much of an accomplishment, but for me it was a very important one. As I trained for it I reflected on...
The River of Life
Life is like a river. What do a rollercoaster and a river have in common? I am always learning and gaining new perspectives. Recently one of my clients was describing a rollercoaster of emotions and we realized together that this is not the best metaphor. Why is it so hard to change our habits? How do we deal with the constant challenges and changes of life? Is life like riding a rollercoaster?...
And vs No
This article originally appeared in Fitness Business magazine in June 2025 Words are powerful. They help us communicate with others and they have an impact. When it comes to how we feel and how we think about ourselves, the words that we use internally are just as powerful as the words that we say out loud. They are the words that we use to shape our self-image and help reate our external...
I’m Back and I Have a Story to Share
It has been many months since I last posted on this website. Due to a very unexpected challenge in my life that required all of my time and energy, I have not written my monthly newsletter since last August. It had been 14 years since my first cancer diagnosis and I thought it was behind me. Then in August I was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer.It was a complete...
Listen Up!
We are terrible listeners. You have heard about listening a hundred times and you might be thinking that you are relatively good at it and don’t need to read this. Stop. I urge you to take two more minutes and continue reading. Studies have made it clear that our fulfillment and happiness is greatly dependent on our connections with people around us. Our connections with others are, like it or...
Work-Life Balance is Impossible
May is such a beautiful month. It is my favourite time of year in Toronto as nature becomes fully alive. Flowers bloom and trees become a special and unique green that says “fresh and new”. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the days are longer. Nature is telling us to breathe, to be hopeful and to find new possibilities. Hope and possibility. New beginnings. It seems like the perfect...
That’s What Friends Are For
I don’t have hundreds of friends on Instagram or Facebook. If I threw a party I couldn’t invite a large group of people. I don’t have many friends. I have a few very close friends in different parts of the world. A few weeks ago, I had an amazing opportunity to spend three days in a small Mexican village with three of my friends from high school. This is us, 40 years ago and now! (Don’t we...
How Much Responsibility is Too Much?
I just listened to a webinar that suggested we take 100% responsibility in all areas of our lives. Sounds beautiful AND unachievable. I was tempted to leave the webinar AND I was reminded how I like to say that in our personal and professional connections, both sides are 100% responsible for what happens within the relationship.What does being 100% responsible actually mean? We need to know...
Stop Fearing Failure
We are told that failure is part of learning and that the only way to grow and create change is to step outside of our comfort zone. We know that the only people who do not fail are the ones who aren’t doing anything.Despite knowing all of these things, most of us fear and even hate failure. As humans we like to feel in control and we like to predict results. In a discussion about next steps in...
I am a Magnificent Normal Person and so are you!
A new year offers an opportunity to change and to start new things. It is also an opportunity to become more aware of our strengths in this ever-changing, wonderful and challenging world. A few weeks ago I was reminded of a simple but powerful concept. Like many of you, I am A Magnificent Normal Person There is power and liberation that comes from accepting that we can be both...
Acceptance is the Beginning of Real Change
I spent last weekend in the north of Canada. White. Cold. Absolutely beautiful. We decided to go snowshoeing through the woods. After about thirty minutes of walking, I found myself completely out of breath. I was trying to keep up with my son, who was walking ahead of me and setting the pace. My heart was pounding. Even in the cold, I was sweating. My legs hurt. And my mind started racing. How...
What if Expectations Are Not The Point?
The holidays often invite us to slow down and reconnect with ourselves and with family and friends. AND they also tend to bring assumptions and disagreements to the surface. That is not a sign that something is wrong. Good relationships, personal and professional, will include assumptions and disagreements. That is part of being in a relationship. Many years ago, a wise aunt once told me, “You...
Life, You Owe Me Nothing
It’s been almost a year since my last newsletter, and I am thrilled to be writing again. Life, as it sometimes does, asked me to pause — to be quiet, to heal. During this time, I faced both illness and loss: I was diagnosed with breast cancer for a second time, and I said goodbye to my amazing and kind father, with whom I was very close. It was a year of transformation — one that brought...
And vs No
This article originally appeared in Fitness Business magazine in June 2025 Words are powerful. They help us communicate with others and they have an impact. When it comes to how we feel and how we think about ourselves, the words that we use internally are just as powerful as the words that we say out loud. They are the words that we use to shape our self-image and help reate our external...
I’m Back and I Have a Story to Share
It has been many months since I last posted on this website. Due to a very unexpected challenge in my life that required all of my time and energy, I have not written my monthly newsletter since last August. It had been 14 years since my first cancer diagnosis and I thought it was behind me. Then in August I was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer.It was a complete...
The Secret to Wisdom
The summer heat has made me more philosophical about life. Like many of my clients, I am entering a different stage in my life. With many years of experience behind me (a nice way to say that I am getting older) I have been contemplating how to use the wisdom I have gained. How is wisdom connected to our well-being? Keep reading to find out. WISDOM is a powerful and scary concept. How can...
That’s What Friends Are For
I don’t have hundreds of friends on Instagram or Facebook. If I threw a party I couldn’t invite a large group of people. I don’t have many friends. I have a few very close friends in different parts of the world. A few weeks ago, I had an amazing opportunity to spend three days in a small Mexican village with three of my friends from high school. This is us, 40 years ago and now! (Don’t we...
How Much Responsibility is Too Much?
I just listened to a webinar that suggested we take 100% responsibility in all areas of our lives. Sounds beautiful AND unachievable. I was tempted to leave the webinar AND I was reminded how I like to say that in our personal and professional connections, both sides are 100% responsible for what happens within the relationship.What does being 100% responsible actually mean? We need to know...
The Secret to Wisdom
The summer heat has made me more philosophical about life. Like many of my clients, I am entering a different stage in my life. With many years of experience behind me (a nice way to say that I am getting older) I have been contemplating how to use the wisdom I have gained. How is wisdom connected to our well-being? Keep reading to find out. WISDOM is a powerful and scary concept. How can...
Work-Life Balance is Impossible
May is such a beautiful month. It is my favourite time of year in Toronto as nature becomes fully alive. Flowers bloom and trees become a special and unique green that says “fresh and new”. Birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the days are longer. Nature is telling us to breathe, to be hopeful and to find new possibilities. Hope and possibility. New beginnings. It seems like the perfect...
Stop Fearing Failure
We are told that failure is part of learning and that the only way to grow and create change is to step outside of our comfort zone. We know that the only people who do not fail are the ones who aren’t doing anything.Despite knowing all of these things, most of us fear and even hate failure. As humans we like to feel in control and we like to predict results. In a discussion about next steps in...
I am a Magnificent Normal Person and so are you!
A new year offers an opportunity to change and to start new things. It is also an opportunity to become more aware of our strengths in this ever-changing, wonderful and challenging world. A few weeks ago I was reminded of a simple but powerful concept. Like many of you, I am A Magnificent Normal Person There is power and liberation that comes from accepting that we can be both...
STOP. December is here again.
It is hard to believe that it is December already and we are almost through another year. At the same time, it has been a long and difficult year for many of us. As I raked thousands of leaves from my garden this past weekend I had to accept that winter has arrived. It reminded me that time doesn’t stop and that our lives are constantly changing. I am often trying to inspire you to stop and...
Time to Renovate
You have probably heard people say that they are going through a midlife crisis or that they are struggling and feeling stuck.I felt this way over the summer. Things just felt a bit off and I was depleted. I was also lonely working from home. I decided to take some time to slow down.I allowed myself to just be with whatever came up. I became curious about my feelings and what they might be...
The Urgency of Life
The past few weeks I supported a friend as his 19-year-old son died. It was a horrible experience that I wish no parent had to go through. During this terrible time I also witnessed the amazing strength that we all have within us and the incredible power of coming together as a community to support each other. Loss is a powerful reminder of how precious and fragile our lives actually are....
Reinvent Yourself
The start of September and the return to routines makes us realize how quickly the year has gone by. Every year I write about how this is an invitation to think about our goals and what we have or have not accomplished. I believe that this is a moment for introspection. Nature brings change. Life brings constant change. I am really feeling these changes in my personal life this month. After 25...